(November 23, 2004) — “How do you afford your rock and roll lifestyle?” chants an accusing crowd, echoing the monotonous vocals of Cake’s lead singer, John McCrea. A few thousand devoted fans gathered last Thursday in Universal Amphitheatre, to see Cake’s only show in Los Angeles during their current tour spurred by the release of their newest album, Pressure Chief. The crowd is composed of a surprising mix of people, from country fans to punk fans, old and young. Cake’s category-defying sound seems to be equally attractive to all manner of people who identify with their well disguised but fiercely political message. Though they opened the show with “Love you Madly,” the concert only started in earnest when a sheet was raised to reveal a giant screen bearing the cover art of Pressure Chief, a pair of hands clasped in an obviously corporate handshake over a simply drawn globe. With this eerily sarcastic symbol as their backdrop, the band played their now-famous title track from their previous album, Comfort Eagle. The concert continued with a mix of songs from all five of Cake’s albums, showing off the change in the group’s sound over their career. Despite the recent release of the album, the crowd was able to sing along perfectly, even on the pressure chief. Cake played fairly constantly through the night, without many breaks between songs except for a few minutes in which McCrea asked for a moment of silence to remember how full of problems the world is. The show ended with a note of hope, although according to McCrea, “Cake does not officially believe that there is any hope for the human race” with a cover of Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive.”